I have been woundering if some of these N DES are just made up,just to sell a bock and gain fame.I could write a story about meeting God,and he told me so and so.maybe I could make money also.I got an email from donald walch today.He is going to do some healing next month,and if we are interested contact this lady.we have to pay a big chunk of money if we want to join in on this healing.This just me to thinking.Could some of these N.D.E s and having a conversation with God be made up to make money.how about you.Id like some comments on this.what do you think don

George,

Donald Walsch's "Conversations with God" books are the most eloquent evidence of the appalling depths of New Age gullibility.  At the least the channeled materials of Seth and Elias unwittingly just reactivate long dormant entities that played a prominant role in 2nd century Gnosticism.  But hey!  Why not go right to the top and claim to channel God (like Donald Walsch) or Jesus (like Helen Schucman in "A Course in Miracles").  Walsch's "God" can't even quote and interpret the Bible correctly.  Of course, "God's" need to take a course in Bible 101 seems to elude his legion biblically illiterate devotees who have made Walsch very rich and lack the intellectual integrity to check out this "God's" claims by consulting any widely acknowledged Bible scholar.  

As for Walsch's foray into divine healing, ask yourself why he won't give you a money-back guarantee in the event you are not healed.  If you have lung cancer, payment should be withheld until medical tests indicate the cancer has gone into full remission without the aid of chemotherapy or radiation treatment.  

From my research and observation, the most spectacular healings occur in Christian circles, but not under the ministries of famous faith healers.  I am constantly awestruck by the stunning miracles that ordinary Christians experience in response to their simple faith.  Their prayer partners would uniformly deem it blasphemous to take money for a service only God can perform, a service which is only effective if it is an expression of freely offered love.

George, if you or a loved one needs a healing, find a church that believes in the power of prayer and regularly prays for the sick.  Then check out the people to see how strongly you experience their love for you and your loved one.  If you are still impressed, ask them to form a prayer circle and lay hands on you or your loved one for healing.  If your loved one can't come for the healing service, then ask the prayer group leader to lay hands on you as a proxy for your loved one.  I conduct such services and have seen the incredible joy and gratitude that such healings produce.  I find  the very thought that I deserve some credit or payment for these healings lucidrous.

Don  

George, I have participated in laying on of hands healings since the mid 1980’s and have never charged for this.  I consider this as a gift of the spirit freely available to everyone and that people are blessed to be a blessing. 

That said, the truth is that we live in a monetary system and I have heard not only healers, but psychics, mediums, etc. say things like why should I work in a another profession to support my family forcing me to devote little time and energy to helping others when I could charge for my services, support my family and help a lot more people? 

In a way there’s a valid point here so the question for me is a matter of integrity.  If someone’s integrity is not of the highest moral values then the energy they run is probably a lot more ineffective than what it could be because they are caught up in too much of their own stuff that needs to be healed.

As Don mentioned churches are a good source to start looking for healing/prayer circles, however the miracle of healing is not limited to those of the Christian faith.  The healing circle several of us started many years ago is made up of people from many different faiths and I also participate in healing circles at a couple of churches.  One commonality is that we all agree that the healing energy comes from a source beyond that of ourselves.  Healing groups outside of churches usually become known by word of mouth.  Ask around at places like metaphysical bookstores, community colleges, hospitals, etc.

Love, Kathy

Regarding what Vajra said to Don, I don't believe there is anything wrong with pointing out that a source of information might be false. I believe a person does others a favor when he or she does so.

Regarding ACIM, one of things that bothers me about it, outside of the fact that not all of its teachings are true, is that some people might decide to seek obtain spirit guidance from Christ, and right away Christ will have to work around the misconceptions ACIM can cause a person to have. If a person wants to receive spiritual guidance from Christ, or a spirit being like him, it doesn't help this spirit being to have to work around such obstacles.

I gave ACIM a good chance. I could feel that it had a brainwashing effect. It caused me to click out. It also caused Ahso to click out. I've noticed that people who are into ACIM, are very defensive about it. I don't believe a person should limit his or herself to the teachings of "any" book. One should always be free to question.

One of the messages my spirit guidance provided me about ACIM was quite simple. "Drop it. It makes the ego bigger."  Considering how much emphasis the text places on the ego, in a Freudian id kind of way (Helen Schucman and William Thetford were psychologists), I can see how this is so.  If a person views his or her ego in the way ACIM speaks of it, one is going to give it much more reality than it has.

I figure things work like this. Each of us wants to have security, knowledge, self worth, happiness, peace and love in our lives. These needs come from a natural inner yearning. If we feel as if one of these needs is lacking or is threatened, we become afraid.  Our fear leads to anger, which leads to feelings such as hate and ill will. Over the course of our lives we develop thought patterns that act accordingly. The key to overcoming these thought patterns isn't imagining that there is some actual ego force we have to overcome in an all or nothing matter. The key is to see on a thought pattern by thought pattern basis, that each thought pattern that limits us isn't necessary.

Lights of Love wrote on Nov 9^th, 2007 at 12:45pm:

agreed.  i think they should charge so they can do it full time, but it seems some of these people charge a ton and then go on a bunch of fancy vacations!  i like to think if i was psychic, i would charge reasonable prices and see the wonderful gift i had as more important than money...